Help! Everyone in my office is quitting

Ask the Insider columnist Ashley Lutz answers all of your
work-related questions, including the awkward, sensitive, and
real-world ones. Have a question? Email
asktheinsider@businessinsider.com.

Dear Insider,

I work for a bank and just got promoted (yay!). The bad part?
In the past month my manager has been removed from my team.
Additionally, my boss and my boss' boss have both moved to
different departments and I'm responsible for 15 people. The
person who has been brought in to oversee our department doesn't
know anything about our projects.

Once all the bosses left, three other experienced people
served their notice period too. They have been replaced by a
bunch of inexperienced people.

My boss and I used to divide the responsibilities of
monitoring the team because it's impossible to oversee 15 people
at once. Now I am basically responsible for the entire team, and
many of them are inexperienced and need training.

I have become completely overwhelmed and don't know what to
do.

Sincerely,

Last Man Standing At My Job

***

Dear Last Man Standing:

I have good news for you: Even though you're overwhelmed right
now, this is actually an amazing opportunity to advance in your
career. Thanks to the recent departures, you're now the most
experienced person in your department. Your company should value
your loyalty and experience more than ever.

I see three major opportunities for you here: 1. You can make
yourself invaluable to your new boss by showing her or him the
ropes, 2. You can establish authority on the existing team, and
3. You can show off your chops by training the new and
inexperienced people.

You definitely have ammunition to ask for
another raise. It's clear you have more responsibilities, and if
your company wants to keep you, they're going to have to make it
worth your time.

The first thing you need to do is identify the next
most-experienced person on the team whom you trust to act as your
deputy. Explain the opportunity for advancement and delegate
tasks to him or her. This will help free up your day for getting
your boss up to speed.

Explain to the team that while you're busy training the boss,
they need to look to the coworker you've appointed by support. Of
course, you'll still be there for the big questions, but this
will free up your day for training.

Focus on getting your manager up to speed and on training the
three new people. Once you have accomplished this, you can divide
responsibilities the way you did
before.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself to accomplish this in
record time. Remind yourself that you're doing the best you can.
Your company is now relying on you, and it will likely cut
you some slack given the situation.

Also invest in some self-care to set yourself up for long-term
success. This is what I refer to as "whatever it takes" mode.
Instead of making coffee at home, treat yourself to
Starbucks. If you would normally spend Saturday cleaning,
hire someone to do the work and do something fun instead.

***

Ashley Lutz is a senior editor at Business Insider answering
all of your questions about the workplace. Send your queries to
asktheinsider@businessinsider.com for publication
on Business Insider. Requests for anonymity will be granted, and
questions may be edited.